In electrical or electronic systems, maximum power transfer between a source of electrical energy and an electrical load is obtained when the load impedance is equal to the source impedance. Current radio frequency (RF) or high frequency (HF) front end systems, for example, a mobile communication network typically comprise a transceiver, a power amplifier, a harmonic filter, an antenna switch, an antenna matching network and an antenna. The antenna matching network is designed to improve power transfer between the transceiver and the antenna by matching the impedance of the transceiver to the impedance of the antenna's feed line.
With the advancement in mobile communication technology, the frequency spectrum of the mobile communications frequencies is getting wider and wider and also the antenna itself requires different impedance matching settings for different environmental conditions. The impedance matching network therefore has to be selected taking into account the various possible operating frequencies and impedances. Further, the advanced design requirements of the mobile communication systems impose size limitations on the impedance matching network.